I am not among those who fear the people. they and not the rich, are our dependance
for continued freedom. and to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers
load us with perpetual debt ... if we run into such debts as that we must be taxed
in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries & our comforts, in our labors & our
amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people,
like them, must come to labor 16. hours in the 24. give the earnings of 15. of these
to the government for their debts and daily expences; and the 16th being insufficient
to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on oatmeal & potatoes.